Flowers in Her Hair
by nekoswimmer
Summary: Aang rounds up Toph and Sokka to help plan for Katara's birthday. But what happens when Zuko finds them and the hopes of birthday festivies are ruined?
1. The Field of Flowers

"Okay, here's the plan," Aang finished meditating and motioned for Sokka and Toph to come over. Sokka ran over excitedly, asking, "Ooooh, it is a battle strategy? Lemme guess, you came up with an idea how to invade the Fire Nation on the Darkest Day! Let me hear it!"

Aang laughed at his friend and said, "No, Sokka! It's Katara's birthday tomorrow and we're gonna celebrate!"

Sokka stopped in his tracks. "Wah?! You're planning for…a birthday party?! Aang, this is serious! If you haven't noticed, there's a WAR going on!"

"Sokka, come on! It's your sister's birthday! Don't you think you could at least do something nice for her?" The Avatar questioned him.

"Yeah, I'm with Twinkle-Toes here. If you ever wanna have a girlfriend, you gotta be at least a little considerate, " Toph said, and tripped Sokka with her Earthbending.

"Ow! Okay! Fine, I'll help! But we have to think up of something to win this war afterwards! And I have had a girlfriend! Lots in fact!" he finished this by yelling in Toph's face.

Toph simply tripped him again. "You have a one-track mind, Sokka. I don't see how anyone could be attracted to a war horse."

"Why, you!" Sokka got to his feet and ran after her.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Toph mocked, but the chase was short-lived. Aang used his Airbending to blow them both over. Sokka landed hard on his rear and Toph landed in a puddle of mud (which wasn't a bad punishment, in her opinion).

"Guys, cut it out! Let's get to work!" Aang summoned the two over to where he was sitting. "Here's what I have in mind," and he began to explain what his idea was.

………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko looked up at the sky and cursed. Rain was on the horizon; he could tell. Firebenders didn't like water; it reminded them of Waterbenders, and this sky reminded Zuko of that cocky girl that traveled with the Avatar. Just thinking about them and their cockiness made his blood boil. The boy was enough, but that girl thought she was so great; who cared if she could do a few tricks with a puddle? What was her name again? It was K-something. Oh, well. It didn't matter.

The reason Zuko was outside with the threat of rain, in this place he considered a wasteland, was because he was…what else? He was chasing the Avatar, of course. Uncle Iroh was holding down the fort at their small campsite, probably busy making tea. They weren't actually in a wasteland, but in a dense forest lush with vegetation. To Zuko, this place was just a fire hazard.

The banished prince angrily brushed some stubborn branches from his path, but as soon as he released them, they swung back and whacked him on the head. Zuko shouted in frustration. He hated this place! He stomped off, crushing several plants underfoot along the way, as if to show his obvious displeasure.

………………………………………………………………………………

"Wow! This is perfect! Thanks, Toph!" Aang cried and leaped into the bed of flowers.

"Glad to be of service. There's so many of them, so it wasn't hard to feel where they were," Toph placed her hands behind her head as if to use as a pillow and flashed a victory grin.

Sokka scoffed under his breath, "Anyone could find a stupid field of flowers."

Toph heard his little comment, and Earthbended the ground beneath his feet into a slick landslide.

"WAHHHHHHH!!" Sokka screamed as he slipped, landed on his behind, and shot like a bullet from the slimy trail of mushy earth into the field of flowers. Aang laughed happily and began gathering the bright flowers.

The field of flowers was more than just a field; it was a vast ocean of poppies, daises, sunflowers, tulips, geraniums, roses, and hundreds of other kinds, all different sizes and colors. It was a completely open meadow, free of shrubs or trees or any other plant life. Flowers stretched as far as the eye could see, and the trees of the nearby forest surrounded the outskirts of the field, all except for one side. This open end of the meadow was where a hill sloped downward to an enormous lake.

Toph and Aang flopped down on their stomachs at the edge of the hill. The sun glinted off the water of the lake, and the soft breeze stirred the grass and flowers, making it look like one giant swaying quilt. The two sighed happily as Sokka staggered over, attempting to brush the filthy mud and bits of earth from his clothes.

"Hey! This is gonna stain! Toph!!" Sokka whined.

"Shh! Just enjoy the moment. I can get it off later," Toph commanded.

"Yeah, Sokka," Aang said dreamily, looking at the shimmering lake. He sighed contentedly and said, "Katara would love it here."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T WE JUST BRING HER HERE INSTEAD OF LEAVING HER BEHIND?!" Sokka bellowed, feeling sulky over his soiled clothes.

"You idiot," Toph told him, feeling slightly vexed that she was being bothered when she was perfectly relaxed. She closed her eyes and let the balmy breeze wash over her. "If we took Katara with us, then the surprise would be ruined."

"Remind me again why we're here," Sokka said miserably, putting a hand over his eyes.

"I'll explain it again," Aang Airbended into a sitting position.

"Make sure to use small words," Toph said, her eyes still closed. The grass was so soft and it was putting her to sleep.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled defensively.

Aang ignored his outburst and began explaining. "We're going to collect a bunch of flowers and put them into this sack." He pointed to the large satchel tied around his waist. "When it's sunset tomorrow on her birthday, I'll fly on my glider and release the flowers into the air! It'll be just having balloons and streamers, but better!" Aang exclaimed, getting excited.

"Then, with some smoke in the air, I'll Airbend it to say in big letters, 'Happy Birthday Katara!' And since it'll be sunset, it will be light enough to see the flowers, but dark enough to see the smoke." Aang finished proudly.

Sokka, being the negative one, asked blatantly, "Where's the smoke coming from? To get smoke you need fire, and you can't Firebend."

Aang looked like he would fall over; he had been so excited by the idea he hadn't even thought of that.

But Toph, coming to the rescue, shot at Sokka, "Ever heard of matches?"

Now it was Sokka's turn to fall over.


	2. The Thorn Bush

**Yay! I actually had time to write this! And only one day after I published the other chapter (pats back)! If my teachers somehow magically don't give me a lot of homework tomorrow, then hell will freeze over. Because today was already miraculous enough only getting physics, math, and english homework. But whatever. Read and...review!**

Momo lazily watched a fly land on the flower nearest him. Hey, that fly looked pretty darn tasty. He suddenly became alert, and was about to pounce when-

Momo screeched and was airborne for a few seconds before slowly drifting back down to earth. He rubbed his sore behind where Katara had accidentally water-whipped him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Momo!" Katara knelt by the lemur and stroked his head. Momo gazed sadly behind her at the flower. The fly had disappeared. Katara, noticing his zoning, said, "Eh heh, sorry. Did I just scare away your lunch?"

Momo didn't hear her comment. The fly was back! He gave a small lemur cry and flew into the air to give chase.

Katara sighed and sat on the rock Momo had previously been occupying. She was a master Waterbender, a born fighter. She could beat Aang in a Waterbending fight any day of the week, and even though Zuko proved to be a tougher opponent, she knew she could smoke him. The reason her training was sour today was because she was distracted.

Her mind kept wandering and she was beginning to worry. Where had her friends gone? Why did they leave her all by herself with an unreasonable explanation? And worse, what if they had forgotten her birthday tomorrow? Katara didn't really want or need anything for her birthday; it would just be nice if her friends acknowledged it was her special day. Even just a simple 'Happy Birthday!' would do.

………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko pried himself from the thorn bush he had gotten stuck in. As soon as he was freed, he set it on fire in a short fit of rage and continued on his way. He angrily mumbled incoherent phrases under his breath and kicked a tree stump. He kicked a little too hard; the pain caused to Zuko sit on the ground and hold his foot and grit his teeth.

That stupid thorn bush had trapped him in its prickly grip for far too long. Precious time had been wasted; Zuko hadn't expected to be bested by a plant. That bush had been a true marvel from Mother Nature and obviously hadn't tolerated a Firebender thrashing around so violently in its branches. Zuko couldn't have just ignited the stupid thing with him still in it; he would have gotten burned, even though he was a Firebender. So he had wasted a chunk of his life and hopes to capture the Avatar all because of a thorn bush. And now it was nearing sundown. He had lost even more time than he thought.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!" Zuko stood and roared at the sky. Dwelling on his stupidity and the loss of time wasn't such a great idea. It reminded him of his sister and how _she _would have gotten out of that bush much quicker than he had. No, Azula wouldn't even have gotten stuck in it in the first place.

"_That's it," _he thought to himself. _"Azula. Think like Azula."_

Zuko calmed himself down, climbed a tree, and looked around at his surroundings. All there was was just a bunch of leafy, fire-hazardous trees. Zuko tried to think like his sister. How would she handle being lost in a ridiculously large forest with absolutely no hope or prayer that the Avatar was here? He tried thinking like a psycho. That always seemed to make Azula succeed at everything.

………………………………………………………………………………

"Aanggggggg…" Sokka whined. "We've been here for hours! I stink, my clothes are filthy, my back aches for bending down to pick these dumb flowers, and I think I'm getting a blister on my foot." Sokka pulled off his shoe to investigate for blisters.

"Oh, quit your whining," Toph tugged at a stubborn flower.

"Please, Sokka, just five more minutes," Aang begged and added a blue pansy to his sack.

"You said that an hour ago! C'mon, it's almost sunset!" Sokka complained.

Toph opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when she felt a faint vibration beneath her feet.

"Sshh!" she hissed at her friends.

"Hey, you can't tell me what to do!" Sokka retorted, but Aang clamped a hand over the older boy's mouth.

"What is it, Toph?" Aang whispered.

"Get down low," she commanded softly, and crouched down near the dirt. She placed her hand on the ground to better understand what was nearby.

The someone or something wasn't exactly nearby; it was hiding about the length of a football field away, on the edge of the field of flowers. It was behind a shrub, hiding itself. She felt its anxious, panting breath, as if had just been running a long distance or was restless to attack, or both. She concentrated harder on the vibrations and found out that it was a human. Toph suddenly felt the tiniest vibration yet: the person had shifted ever so slightly on his toes. There was no mistaking that movement; this guy was ready to run towards them and attack.

"Get ready to fight," she whispered urgently.

Sokka pulled out his boomerang, and Aang started to stand to get in a fighting stance.

"Don't stand just yet," Toph told him. "He might not be clear on exactly where we are yet."

Aang nodded and crouched back down. He was nervous; who was it? Would they end up spoiling his plans for Katara's birthday?

"How many are there?" Sokka asked Toph quietly.

"It's just one guy, but from here I can't really tell who it is. I'm unfamiliar with him," she answered. _"Come on," _she thought. _"Make a move."_

Suddenly bursts of bright, white-hot flames shot above them, scorching the air. Toph felt thundering footsteps coming their way, but she smiled. This guy was perfect bait for an Earthbender like her; she could already tell most of his fighting was done rooted to the ground: his stance and technique gave him away.

"Zuko!" she heard Aang cry, and felt a blast of air that just barely missed her. She had heard of Zuko, heard that he was an annoying pest. She grinned again. She loved teaching annoying pests a lesson. This was going to be fun.

Zuko fell on his back with a thud but stood again, ready for anything. Except Toph.

She used one of her favorite attacks: a simple movement of her feet that moved the opponent off to the side but made them stumble over their own two feet.

Zuko fell again, confused by what had pushed him. A ghost? No, a smug-looking Earthbender with a grin that said: "You're the silly child and I am the superior, all-knowing adult." That face mocked him.

Zuko noticed right away that she was blind. Her eyes had no focus and were an unnatural gray color. She was useless without the earth telling her where everything was. The prince leaped into the air, bending one knee and straightening the other. The straightened foot ignited, and at the right moment he would swing it downward straight at her.

"_He thinks he's clever," _Toph thought with a smirk. She had felt the bending of his knees to jump, and heard the crackle of fire that came from his stretched-out foot. The jump and attack in itself was sloppy and poorly performed. He was horribly predictable and all in all was a terrible aerial attacker.

Toph gave Zuko a disapproving nod like a teacher to a dim student and moved out of his way at the last possible second. She Earthbended a small boulder into the air and had it collide with his stomach as soon as he landed. Zuko, with the wind knocked out of him, feel to the ground in defeat.

Sokka tied Zuko up in his special, only-use-in-an-emergency fireproof rope. He loomed over the Firebender, and announced to his friends with a mischievous smile, "I think I have an idea that might help with Katara's birthday plan, Aang."

"Really? What is it?" Aang wanted to know.

**Sorry if I concentrated a little too much over the whole thorn bush ordeal. But it's fun to give Zuko a bit a grief over something like a plant. **

**For some reason, it's also fun to write about Toph. She's so spunky and cool. She's kinda like Helen Keller, except you know, without the deaf part. But still, she believes in herself and all that good inspiring stuff.**

**Til the morrow (or whenever I update), **

** - Kiki ;P**


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